When I first encountered Davy Jay Sparrow & His Western Songbirds, it was a pleasant evening in early May and by happenstance I had walked into Katie O?Brien?s, looking for whiskey and a place to sit. I got those as planned, but the show that followed was simply a delightful piece of luck. Though I?d been listening to Dr. Dre radio on Spotify while walking to the bar, the swingy, Westerny, old-timey honky-tonk that ensued was so charming that I walked home sans Spotify, still glowing with joy.
Davy Jay has seven Western songbirds to be exact: Bryant (trombone), Rayson (upright bass), Aaron (alto saxophone), Wade (rhythm guitar), Foxxy (drums), Olga (clarinet), and Larry (steel guitar). The hootin? and hollerin? these eight people do; the pure, faultless tempos; the swingy beats and breezy rhythm changes; the obvious comfort level between the musicians as they effortlessly dance and play through their solos?it?s all a sight to see.
I got a chance to sit down with Davy and talk about his band, and when asked about the conception of the Songbirds, he revealed:
?When I moved to Portland in July 2012, I left behind eight years of musical connections that I had built from Chicago to Knoxville and Cincinnati to St. Louis. I knew Portland was fulla musicians, but I was very anxious to keep momentum and get right to work performin?. Embarrassingly, I took straight to Craigslist? but I had an eight-piece Western swing band put together within a month! We?ve been feelin? our way through our sound and have made some adjustments along the way, but the group?s progression has really been as natural as chords in a folk tune.?
With their newest album,?All Nite Long!, the Songbirds have created a testament to influences as varied as Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies, Spade Cooley & His Western Swing Orchestra, Lawrence Welk, and The Hackberry Ramblers. Two songs off the album are traditionals while?the other eleven originals, but they?re all meant for a fun time.
Here is the title track from the album, in all its rip-roarin? glory:
?I wrote all of the original songs on this album with the intent of helping people feel good about themselves and the world around them,? Davy Jay says.??I think it?s a good idea for a person to set aside some time each day to feel fancy, beautiful, cool, happy and fun. The main idea is that a song has the power to lift your spirits and make you feel like a million bucks? even if it?s only in three-minute increments! Western swing is the medium I have chosen to accomplish this goal, because it takes the blues and turns it on its head; it takes the ballad and makes it a ball; and it leaves depression just a-danglin? in the dust. Don?t get me wrong, I like a good old-fashioned tear jerker as much as the next fella, but I get the feelin? sometimes that there?s an overabundance of seriousness and sadness in music today. My approach is to try and overcome the troubles we all face as people in a crazy world by swingin? and laughin? and keepin? our spirits high.?
Perhaps one of the most endearing songs on the album is ?The Bow Wow Boogie,? which features a guest spot by Davy?s son ?Railroad? Jack.
?That kid is twice as funny as me, looks twice as nice, and is only half my size!? he exclaims. ?The best part about working with Jack is that I am able to integrate my family life with my night life in a way that satisfies everyone involved. We?re funny and hip and awesome (and slightly off-color), which makes the grown-ups garble. We?re wholesome and cute and full of energy, which makes the young?uns and the old folks cheer us on. We make a fantastic team, it?s true! Oh, and one more?very important?thing: We always make way more money when he takes the stage!?
I knew Davy had grown up in the Midwest so I was curious as to how he liked playing for the Portland crowd.
?My favorite part of performin? here in Portland is how easy it is to put together a show, and to know that between the folks you bring out and the folks that just happen to show up, there?s almost always a crowd! It might not always be huge, but it?s usually top-notch in terms of quality and folks really show their appreciation,? he says. ?We opened up for Wayne ?The Train? Hancock at Dante?s a few months back and we really won some hearts that night?things have been nothin? but upward since then!?
For a good indication of how Portlanders react to the band,?check out Davy and the Songbirds gliding their way through the ?Tweetlin? Blues? at the Mission Theater:
The night I happened to catch Davy Jay & His Western Songbirds, the crowd built steadily throughout the duration of the show, and by the end, there were pin-up babes in swing skirts and victory rolls swing dancing past the band and all the tables hummed with tapping fingers and toes. Foxxy kept the beats crisp and tight while the band jumped along, yodeling and strumming and dancing away in their matching Western suits.
Davy and the band will be doing an album release for the effervescent All Night Long! at The Secret Society on Friday, July 5th, 2013. Doors open at 8:30pm and be ready by 9pm to catch openers Countryside Ride and Boy & Bean. And most importantly, don?t forget to bring those dancin? shoes.
st louis rams ryan tannehill pittsburgh steelers seattle seahawks space shuttle new york courtney upshaw catch me if you can
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.